Silly tire question

[racer-xerols]

OK, the 89 CSX needs new tires. No surprise, since it still wears its OEM set of 225/50-15 gatorbacks (factory wide tire car). Can you say "dryrot"?

Anyway, tirerack.com only comes up with 14 tires in that size, and most of them are competition only. Nothing in goodyear. I'd like to find a tread pattern that looks "right" on the car, and have a decent brand at a good price. I'm leaning towards these - I ran SP Sports on my C/S years ago and they are good tires:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/BigPic.jsp?sidewall=Blackwall&tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=SP+Sport+9000&vehicleSearch=false&partnum=25ZR59000&fromCompare1=yes&place=1

Anyone have any thoughts, or suggestions? What are others with wide tire cars running? I love the look of the gatorbacks on there..but they're nothing but cracked plastic at this point :(

[turbovanman²]

Those look fine. Getting tires is so hard these days. Are those summer only?

Stick with 225/50, wider will rub, thinner will look goofy unless you change rim sizes.

[Mario]

BFG G-Force KD Tires. They are no longer made but I know where you can get a set for $400 which is a steal in my eyes. PM me if you want to know where to get them.

Other than that....Michelin Pilot Sport Cups are nice they should last 5-15K depending how you drive on them.

Or you could revert back to 205 50 15s..... or new wheels tires all together and keep those wheels and tires as originals.

[Chad T]

I switched from the Tire Rack to ebay for my last couple sets of tires. There's a place called atw-tires that has real good prices on Kumhos which I've had good experience with.

Decent selection of 225/50/15s on ebay right now. No Goodyears though. http://shop.ebay.com/items/_W0QQ_nkwZ225Q2050Q2015QQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZR40QQ_mdo Z

[Marcus86GLHS]

what about Goodyear Eagle GT-HR Series tires in 225/60-15?

thats very close in size. the sidewalls and tread look closer to the classic 80's Gatorbacks than any tire out there right now imo.

[JuXsA]

I have a set of kumhos 225/50/15 on my csxt and they look good and drive great. The ride is so much better then the 205/50 that were on there. Plus they fill up the wheel well a good bit more. I got them from my local tire store for around $80-$87 a tire.

[turbovanman²]

what about Goodyear Eagle GT-HR Series tires in 225/60-15?

thats very close in size. the sidewalls and tread look closer to the classic 80's Gatorbacks than any tire out there right now imo.

225/60 will be alot taller, :(

[racer-xerols]

Since it's one of the 2 options on the car, I'm keeping to the factory size (225/50-15). I'd *like* to find something that looks similar-ish to the gatorbacks...but the way things are going right now, budget is going to play more of a part than preference, lol.

Anyone have an "in" at Coker Tire? We need to get them to reproduce the gatorback.

Damn industry, "advancing" past 15" wheels.....

[contraption22]

TireRack has BFG G-Force Sports in 225/50/15 on special right now for $67 buck each! That seams to be a steal to me!

But if it were up to me, I would take the original Fiberides off and put them in safe storage. They are rare, fragile and unrepairable.

[Marcus86GLHS]

The Gatorback is still in production, its OEM on one particular Mustang model cant recall which one but I was at the Goodyear dealer this past July getting my new Eagles mounted and he was showing me the pix of a in-production Gatorback and its like a time warp to the 80's, but i think the only size was an 18" or maybe larger wheel size.

[racer-xerols]

I haven't found anything I like on the car other than the Fiberides...nothing else looks "right". I've got a set of 6.5" crabs painted gold, and they work fine...just don't look right to me. Polished aluminum looks horrible with the red/gold motif, IMO...and pumpers just look slab-sided when they're painted gold. To me, anyway.

The car hasn't seen daylight in about four years - it's been covered in a warehouse/garage next to my 91 CS. I'm only thinking about it because I can finally put "historic" Maryland tags on it, which gives me the chance to drive it once in a while to burn the condensation out of the fluids and have fun with a $26.50/year plate and no inspections (and cheaper insurance due to the 'limited use' status of the Historics). It'll be strictly a "let's go for a ride" car, not an "I need to go to..." car. Am I worried about the Fiberides? Sure. Am I going to come anywhere close to pushing the limits of what they can handle? Nope. It won't be as much a "car" as a rolling museum piece, I guess. Maybe I'll even put the numbers match engine back in one day....lol.

I'll have to check out tirerack, and see those BFG's, thanks :)

[contraption22]

I haven't found anything I like on the car other than the Fiberides...nothing else looks "right". I've got a set of 6.5" crabs painted gold, and they work fine...just don't look right to me. Polished aluminum looks horrible with the red/gold motif, IMO...and pumpers just look slab-sided when they're painted gold. To me, anyway.



Check this out. I saw these wheels on the car in person at SDAC18 and they really look good!

http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21400&highlight=pontiac+fiberides

[Turbo3Iroc]

Sean's wheels came out pretty nice, very hard to notice unless you really knew these cars.

There was a CSX at SDAC this year with some gold 17's didn't get a chance to talk to the owner but thought they fit the car well.

[racer-xerols]

Yeah, I'd thought about that...but the idea of stuffing a 225 on a 6" rim is one I'm not a big fan of. Nice look, though.

And maybe it's just me...but for a wheel spacer, why not just use grade 8 washers on each lug? They're hardened...or is there too much wheel flex between the studs that way?

[contraption22]

And maybe it's just me...but for a wheel spacer, why not just use grade 8 washers on each lug? They're hardened...or is there too much wheel flex between the studs that way?

I have seen wheels wobble because of rust on a rotor hub surface or drums to give you an idea of how sensitive this is. It would be extremely difficult to find washers that would be the same exact thickness. I suppose you could have all the washers surface ground, but thats time that could easily be saved by doing things the right way and purchashing a set of quality wheel spacers.

Plus, as you mentioned, you are putting WAY more stress on the lug studs as they will have to handle forces that would normally be shouldered by the wheel being against the hub. AND, the load would be so far out on the hub, the studs would be more likely to bend or shear.

[turbovanman²]

Do you have a pic of the 225/50r15 on your car? interested to see how they look as most come with 215/60 or 65R15's, :o

[racer-xerols]

I have a couple pics of the car as it sits...pm me your email address, I can't post pics on here.